Sea Crossing in the New Paradigm

A Passover Retelling

This is a retelling of an old story that invites us to imagine new ways forward. Watch this.

Transcript below.

Sea Crossing in the New Paradigm

By Kohenet Annie Matan

Channelled at Kohenet Shabbat on June 20, 2020

Text is transcribed from Zoom Video.

We are journeying.

From a hard place

That is the only place we've ever known.

And even though we know it's not good for us,

it's familiar.

So it's hard to leave.

It's scary

because we don't know where we're going.

The path ahead of us is uncertain.

But we go. And in fact,

we leave faster than we thought possible,

after many years of saying:

It's impossible.

We'll never get out of here.

This is the way it's always been.

And this is the way it will be forever.

There's no other way.

That was the story.

My whole lifetime, maybe yours too. Maybe for 400 years.

That's been the story.

And what finally propelled us out was a great cry.

So here we are.

We are on the path. We look behind us and it pulls –

Oh, but it's so [much] easier to just go back.

And we look ahead

and there's some hope on the horizon.

And we think:

okay, one more step, one more step.

I'm finally doing it!

And finally, I'm finally learning this new way,

this way called Freedom!

I take with me what I need:

Drums.

Easy Food.

My community.

And when I think:

Ah, I'm finally out!

I find myself between a rock and a hard place.

Or maybe between

an army of Egyptians and the sea.

Or maybe between

all of the ways that I have been conditioned

to see and understand the world

and ways that I'm just beginning to learn

through unlearning.

And it feels like this sea of Unknowing

is a great chasm that may be impossible to cross.

Here's where in our paradigm,

in our day,

the story has changed.

Because I grew up learning the Charlton Heston version

with this random guy

(who I later learned was named Nachson Ben Aminadav)

who dives alone off a cliff

in a literal leap of faith.

One person sacrifices.

Believes he is sacrificing himself

because he believes the only way forward is sacrifice.

And maybe death.

And in years past when I have told this story,

I thought,

you know, even if he just stepped in

one step at a time -

like some of our rabbis tell us -

until the water was up to his nose.

Even that -

not knowing how to swim,

just believing:

I gotta do this hard thing

by myself

or else.

That was the old way, People.

The new way

is to stand at that shore

and open our eyes.

And look to your left.

And look to your right.

And look behind you.

Look at all these faces.

And realize no one does it alone,

EVER.

We are not being called to step forward alone anymore.

…It used to be that that was a badge of honor -

I did it by myself -

No more.

We are here with our ancestors.

All the generations are at our back.

And all of our children.

And our children's children.

And their children's children,

generation after generation before us

is in front of us,

drawing us forward

into the future we are dreaming and creating.

And we are all God, remember?

So when we sing Who is like You?

We are looking at our community.

We are looking at all these faces and saying,

You,

each of you,

each of us

is a gift.

We have to do it together.

I’m not like you

and I need you

to hold my hand.

I need you so we can step in together.

And remember!

When we stepped in, what happened?

The hard way,

the way that seemed impossible

became possible.

Not just a slog.

It was not a slog.

It was safe.

We walked through

on DRY land.

And here's another way the story is different.

In our world today,

Nobody

is drowned behind us.

We all make it.

And when we sing,

Who is like you?

We sing

for all the ones who are catching up

for all the ones who didn't know any better

for all the ones who are pulling us forward

because WE didn't know any better,

and we thought the old way

was the only way

just like they did.

And now we are

arriving and arriving

wave after wave after wave

and hand by hand

pulling each other up

into the new world

of our dreams

in which every single one of us

is safe.

And fed.

And healthy.

And thriving.

Not just surviving.

thriving together.

It is so.

Amen.